Lorenzo Amor, president of the National Self-Employed ATA Federation, said this Friday in Córdoba: “University students have a businessman perception of the field” and this is not the reality of this country”. In this sense, he expressed the “concern” of this entity decline in young entrepreneurs and implied the conclusions of a forthcoming report on the causes of this evolution, citing it as “the educational and cultural problem of society.”
Lorenzo Amor made these statements during his participation in a new forum of the Córdoba Conecta cycle titled and organized by this newspaper at the Hospes Palacio del Bailío hotel. Self-employed, axis of economic recovery. Vice-Chancellor for Entrepreneurship, University of Córdoba, Anthony Arenasattended the event and consulted with Lorenzo Amor, Córdoba City Council Councilor for Economic Revival and Blanca Torrent, the event’s co-star, on policies this institution could adopt to reverse the current trend. majority of students prefer public service and not with entrepreneurship as a business opportunity.
The ATA president referred to the following series: Simpson and “since we were little, the bad guy in the show is a businessman. He is an exploitative businessman. His idols are football players, singers. In my time, we had entrepreneurs as idols.” He criticized in this way, “Today we are selling our youth that there is no such leader to follow. We demonize the businessman figure. Nobody wants to be the devil. It’s something we need to think about. It is necessary to have a very important profession to sit and watch television and see how this country’s businessmen put the businessmen in books, serials, movies and political leaders to be able to say ‘I want to be like them’ from the rostrum of Congress. .
For this reason, he argued, “it is necessary to value the fact that the building of a country, prosperity, employment is done every day through a company and some workers that make development possible”. legs are the bad guys in the movie.” The head of ATA commented, “The report concludes on this issue, mainly about the stereotypes that are sold about businessmen in our country.”
ATA confirms businessmen “insulted” in Spain
Lorenzo Amor said, “You cannot continue to humiliate, humiliate and despise business people. I have never seen any EU government fail and vilify as in Spain. To the people who create many jobs in our country every day”.
In this sense, he warned that “we are crossing a very ugly line” and stated that he has observed this situation “for the last six months”. “If there is no employer, there are no workers unless we understand that there must be only one company,” he added.
Increase in SMI “bread for today, hunger for tomorrow”
In another setting, regarding raising the Inter-Occupational Minimum Wage to 1,080 euros per month in 2023, Lorenzo Amor said, “We will not see any large or medium-sized companies shut down due to the increase in SMI, Nevertheless, We will see many freelancers and small businesses shut down due to this increase. costs added to others”.
According to him, “It is very striking that the salary that the state has to pay has increased by 3 percent, and the salary that businessmen have to pay by decree, by 8 percent.” In this way, he said, “wages need to go up, but we have asked the CEOE (Confederation of Business Organizations) for the highest 4 percent increase we have requested in the last five years.”
Lorenzo Amor said, “In the home regime, affiliates are lost every day and the hours are getting shorter, because this increase is bread for today and hunger for tomorrow.” working hours are reduced He referred to the negative consequences of the minimum wage increase in the “working world”.
He denounced the idea that “businessmen and the self-employed have seen how SMI has increased by 60% in the last five years (47% according to the estimate published by the Spanish Government), but nothing the Administration pays. We are increasingly suffocating this part of the business fabric.” .
A ‘fast truck’ in administration
Lorenzo Amor, referring to the holding of municipal and regional elections in the coming months, said that the ATA “is a part of the administrations”. fast truck“, the fast lane at airports, “Management helps him and does not trip him or hinder him.” As an example, he cited the reduction of impositions and administrative simplification and argued that “When the administration does not hinder but helps, there is growth in employment and the work fabric.”
Moderator of the forum, CÓRDOBA Head of Economy Francisco FairWhen Lorenzo Amor asked if self-employed people were listened to by public administrations, the head of ATA replied, referring to the positive developments in the industry and stating that “being self-employed in 1988 had nothing to do with Turkey.” To be so in 2023″.
“Trade takes the biggest blow”
Regarding the evolution of this business structure, Lorenzo Amor detailed “a decline in traditional activities” and stated that “trade has taken the biggest hit”. 20,000 self-employed traders were lost in Spain last year, he said.
He also referred to the loss of self-employment in the accommodation, agriculture and industry sectors and the increase in the professional sectors. The head of the ATA federation said: “People who are 50 years old are being kicked out of the companies they started their jobs”, In the last five years, it has caused the loss of 110,000 self-employed people under the age of 45 and the loss of 150,000 people over the age of 50. Blanca Torrent reminded her that women played the leading role in this result, which Lorenzo Amor confirmed that “women accounted for 80% of this increase in self-employment.”
Among other things, this official said, “On average, sales have increased by 10%, but costs have skyrocketed by 22%. This means that many self-employed entrepreneurs are unable to make a living. For the first time in ten years, Spain has lost the self-employed and the business fabric.”
And what happens to the self-employed is an early indicator of what the employment situation might look like in the coming months, we’ve seen it already in 2008. And in 2013, first the self-employed rebounded, then employment slowly recovered,” he recalled.
When asked about the effect european funds, The head of ATA was convinced “Most self-employed and SMEs don’t go to see them. Many will do, they will have the call digital kitbut in the end I think a lot will remain in the infrastructure, for the Administration and in particular PERTE”.
Córdoba donated 20 million euros
Blanca Torrent highlighted the cooperation with the business structure of the Municipal Institute for Economic Development and Employment and during this tenure highlighted: donated 20 million euros For SMEs, freelancers and third sector organisations.
The councilor explained that this amount quadruples the subsidies of the previous period when the city was administered by the PSOE and IU, of 4.2 million. Of the 20 million mentioned, eight million were donated and paid out in 2022. private line for self-employment, To start new businesses, which the City Council has delivered up to 4,500 euros to entrepreneurs. During his tenure, 1,200 freelancers and SMEs We got this help.
Regarding the evolution of the self-employed group in the city of Córdoba, Blanca Torrent stated that in January 2019 there were 18,974 people and currently 19,432 people. capital earned 458 self-employed in four years. In the last financial year, 239 people were lost in particular, one reduction mainly concentrated in small businesses and to a lesser extent in the hospitality industry. Thus, 17% of the self-employed in Córdoba operate in retail trade and 8.3% in food and beverage services.
The Economic Remobilization Council Member detailed that 95% of companies in Córdoba have fewer than 10 employees and 64% are not workers for which they are responsible. Regarding the plight of businessmen, Blanca Torren said that the beneficiaries of municipal assistance declared that they are interested in knowing when to receive assistance and that they need it to continue their business. As an example of the situation they experienced, he stated that due to price instability in restaurants, menus were given instead of fish as the offer of the day, so they could not advertise these places with a fixed price. price.